St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-06-05

development of the qualities which
make it Il desirable residing place has
been we'll illustrated by the history of
Minneapolis during the season just clos
ing In every sphere OF society. from
the most select circles. so called, to
levels unknown to the aristocrat, there
have been dancing clubs, whist clubs
and reading and literary clubs of vari-
Gus kinds. Each to its members has
been source of pleasant Improvement.
1t may be an open question i'll the
minds of many, whether the
dancing and whist clubs can have
benefited their members, but to me
there seems no room for an argument.
Whatever the natural proclivitieS of
man and woman, when brought into
social contact with their fellows, all OF
the good that is in them is displayed
and their diSagreeable qualities are care
fully cloSeted. SO that dancing parties
are the most practical sort of manner
schools. and every one knows that the
wits are brightest when cards are play
ing. As for the more substantial bene-
fits derived from literary gatherings, it
is needless to speak because they are
universally conceded.
What a meaningless un-American
term is that ''Select circleSi' As though
society were banded off by hoops that
keep in all that may have been placed
there and exclude ambitious nobOdieS.
1t is pleasant fiction, this circle bust
ness in society. No mans place, no
woman'S place is assured beyond perad-
vent ure. Money and refinement and
education, the qualities most sought in
the social realm. are none of them abs0
lutte foundationS-can none of them
hold their positions in the front rank.
There are wealthy rascals, and thieves
with the manners of a Chesterfield, and
learned Williams, and their wealth and
manners and education do but make
them more dangerous to the very
society that courts these attri-
butes. Beneath all these must
exist character. pure and clean and
strong. Any other basis for building up
social position is artificial and erroneous,
and sure to overleap itself. Select cir
cleS. indeed. there are young women i'll
Minneapolis to-day who work hard all
day long at desk, behind counter, in fac
tory: may it not be in Kitchen also, that
in all the attributes of noble womanhoOd
are the peers of the wealthiest They
read the news of the day. they have in
telligent ideas on the great mass of topics
about which the -wsfld is buSying itself,
and withal they have noble Self-reSpect
that inspires respect for them. They
form Il select circle in the economy of
the world. circle on which the smile
of benefcent Justice rests.
By far the mostimpertant social event
of the spring season, if events be
weighed by their influence on the wei
fare of the city. was the spring reception
of the Society of Fine Arts, held Friday
evening at the residence of DR.. j. G.
French, 1000 Hawthorne avenue. The
beauty of DR.. French's home was in
tenSified by the artistic decorations
which had been made for the reception.
Two apartments had been completely
metaiporphoSed, so that, on entering.
the visitor seemed to have left all the
world outside and to have come into an
art-cfdmmed atmosphere, SO completely
in sympathy with the spirit of the hour
were the appointments of the suite.
The reception would have been in
tereSting under any circumstances,
because OF the distinguished company,
which embraced, besides the members
of the society, including asst does peo-
pie whose art education is of the best,
many of the leading citizens. all of
whom laid aside baser thoughts and de-
voted the evening to seeing and talking
of art subjects. There can be no more
ennOkHng subject within the range of
human thought than a contemplation of
the beautiful in its various forms: this
Is high art in the best sense of the
word. and it was in such pleasant occu-
patton that the guests of the Fine Art
society found entertainment and in
Struction delightfully."- blended on Fri
day evening. There were beautiful
paintings, in which form and color COM
bined to satisfy aesthetic longings;
rich tapestries and soft silken hangingS
in Subdued tintS suggested the wonders
of the weavers art: reproductions of
the famous sculptures of an age when
art was young, told of the precedence of
form to color, III chronology as in funda-
mental art principles; wealth of brio
a-brac displayed forms of endless
beauty, colors eXquisitely blended, and
in themselves indicated the practical
turn of our present age, when the best
efforts of artists are bent to adornment
of the home, and made constantly to
educate the people to realization of the
wonderful beauty of the. beautiful.
These were a few of the things which
the guests saw, but what was better
than the articles. perhaps, was the fine
artistic effect with which they were
grouped.
The especial feature of the reception
was the display of paintings and draw
ingS by Director Douglas VoIk, of the
vi EIIlt aTIS, anu
his students. toWhich the suite of rooms
above referred to was devoted. 1t is
difficult to. describe a picture or an
apartment, especially when the general
effect Is one of artistic completeness.
Inc exhibition rooms were arranged as
an artists studiO,the workshop of sue
ceSSful painter, whose sensitive soul de-
manded surroundings of beauty, in
which no suggestion of discord, no in
hnT nTaInvn TaIa1
appear. An artist arranged the beauti-
full hangings of the rooms, for none
other could have so successfully COM
blned such variety of draperieS, pic
lures, brie brac and furniture.
An artist, too, determined the placing
OF the exhibits and arranged the lights,
and to the many who saw the pictures
there is no doubt concerning the mas
terly work of the director of the school,
not only as an artist, but as an in
structor. Mr.. Volk'S latest work, sThe
Bride" was hung in a tapestried niche,
where strong lights revealed in it a
thing of surprising beauty with 10 ap-
parent flaw. This was the central
shrine, and the artist was not only the
recipient of hearty congratulations, he
found himself liOniZed; proceeding he
did not seem altogether to relish. Mr..
Folk'S works. we'll known and deserv-
edly praised. The pictures of the STU
dents are of far more importance, for in
them is revealed something of the char
acter OF the instruction they have re-
ceived; and if the Minneapolis School
of Fine Arts proves itself the peer of
Eastern art schools its merits should be
widely herafded, and every citizen
should feel personal interest and pride
in it's welfare. - ssE'''-ef
-
Last fall a:young lady residing i'll San
francisco started to New York to COM